Hello! 131 gets a makeover

DIALLING 131 has been a pain in the fingers for majority of train passengers. For when it rang, nobody really picked it up to answer your enquiry and when you dialed again, you found it engaged?.most of the time!

DIALLING 131 has been a pain in the fingers for majority of train passengers. For when it rang, nobody really picked it up to answer your enquiry and when you dialed again, you found it engaged….most of the time!

That’s 131 syndrome in a nutshell. But, hello! It is over now.

The railway officials feel that the ills about the system are the things of past, and the enquiry system has been upgraded with additional lines and the numbers (1331-1332) have been synchronized into one-131, where the callers may the requisite information— both ways— through Interactive Response Voice System (IVRS) and manual.

General Manager of Northern Railway V N Mathur on Wednesday, inaugurated the high-tech Integrated Enquiry System (IES) at the Charbagh Railway Station, before leaving for inspection of railway stations from Lucknow to Varanasi.

About the new system, he said IES had been designed in such a way that it could even trace the erring railway employees, who try to escape their responsibilities toward the people. And the same time he said the erring callers could also is easily traced if they try to misbehave with the railway employees on duty at the enquiry system.

The system has been designed like akin to a customer care system in various mobile phone services. For example on seeking information about the arrival and departure of trains, callers would be asked to chose a language of their choice- either Hindi or English by dialing one or two.

On the basis of requirement the callers are requested to dial one for up trains, while dial two for down trains, while contacting a person at enquiry dial 3.

“This will give the callers requisite information,” said the General Manager. He further informed that the system was available on the mobile software, and in case of deliberate attempt of not responding by the employee could be known by his superiors and the concerned person would be liable for action.